Page 139 - The Social Weapon: Darwinism

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For the general [Bernhardi], it was the needs of war that came first, the
imperialist adventures and nationalist experiments that followed. For
others it was the reverse: the imperialist and nationalist aspirations
brought war and militarism in their wake. There were even some who
would have liked the virtues of war without the onus of militarism or
nationalism; this was social Darwinism in its purest, most disinter-
ested form. 75

Sir Arthur Keith, an evolutionist anthropologist and biogra-
pher of Darwin, openly admitted that he was all in favor of war.
Although he personally liked the idea of peace, he feared the results
of such an experiment. Also, he made the illogical prediction that
after 500 years of peace, the world would turn into “an orchard that
has not known the pruning hook for many an autumn and has ri-
oted in unchecked overgrowth for endless years.” 76
Keith's words indicate just how ruthless Darwinist suggestions
can make people. Keith believed that the
world needed to be “pruned” from time
to time, that those “elements” that de-
layed the strengthening of the
world needed to be cut away and
discarded. He was openly sup-
porting savagery. The “pruning”
referred to by Keith was war, and
those who died in war, whom he

felt needed to be discarded, were
helpless men and women and chil-
dren. Those taken in by the decep-
tions of Darwinism feel no sympathy
for these innocent people. The theory
that in order to strengthen and de-
velop the white race, those regarded
as weak may be eliminated led to cru-
elties never seen before.